


In The Beginning

by janto321 (FaceofMer)



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25906084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaceofMer/pseuds/janto321
Summary: Yusuf and Nicolo met on the battlefield
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 12
Kudos: 114





	In The Beginning

The first time Yusuf killed Nicolo it was in the heat of battle. He barely noticed who he caught on his sword, just another enemy fallen into the sand, another man who had come to claim what they had no right to.

Nicolo gasped awake a few minutes later. Hadn't he died? He thought he had, and there was certainly blood enough on his tunic, but here he was, looking up at the clear blue sky, the sound of battle raging all around him. Maybe he hadn't earned his salvation yet? He staggered to his feet, stabbing the first Muslim he saw in the side.

Yusuf didn't see the man who stabbed him in the side, just felt the sword pierce under his armor. He groaned and fell, wondering if he would see paradise.

Instead, he woke up a few minutes later, groaning and confused about what had happened. He got to his feet and rejoined the battle.

The battle ended towards evening. Both men stumbled in to rest in their camps, the day a troubling haze of death and blood. Both men ate a light supper and went to sleep. Both men dreamed, of women they didn't recognize and of a face that looked like the enemy.

Yusuf woke in darkness and grabbed parchment, sketching out the faces he'd seen. He looked for a long moment at the face of his enemy, considering burning it, but instead hiding it amongst his belongings.

Nicolo woke, the specter of his enemy's face still near at hand. He got out of bed and went into the makeshift chapel they'd erected and prayed until dawn.

The next few days brought a few minor skirmishes. Both men fought well, both men looked for the face from their dreams, and, for the moment, neither of them saw it.

Finally, three nights after their first encounter Yusuf spotted the face in the chaos of the battlefield. He approached, curious and wary. The man looked up and he saw recognition in his eyes, then hatred. Their swords clashed and in the end, it was the stranger lying in the dirt, unseeing eyes turned upwards.

Yusuf felt pity and a strange sense of loss. He crouched next to the man and murmured a prayer for his soul as if the two of them were alone and not surrounded by war and battle.

Suddenly the man blinked and moved. Yusuf pulled back, but not quickly enough as the blade pierced his skin.

Nicolo reacted on instinct as his eyes came back into focus. Seeing the stranger crouched over him, he'd stabbed the man, seeing the surprise in his face as he toppled backwards. "What are you?" he asked, stabbing him again, a killing blow. "A demon sent to torment me?"

The strangers lips formed words Nicolo couldn't hear, a moment before he went limp, dead. Nicolo wondered at the odd sadness he felt. There was no room for pity for the infidel, because they certainly bore no pity for them or for the Christians who passed through these lands. That's why Nicolo had come, after all, to make the land safe for pilgrims.

Suddenly the stranger rolled onto his side, coughing. Nicolo was so shocked he fell back, grasping for his sword. Surely this was a devil and not a man.

They killed each other nearly a dozen more times, fighting on their knees, the rest of the battle no longer any concern, both of them exhausted as they wondered what devilry or witchcraft kept animating the other.

It was only when the sun began to set that they realized the battle had moved away from them and they were alone in the shadow of a hill, the sand soaked with their intermingled blood, their weapons heavy in their hands.

The stranger started to raise his sword again. "Stop," said Yusuf in a language he hoped was close enough for him to understand. He looked the man in the eyes and dropped his own weapon.

It could be a ploy. But clearly neither of them were staying dead even if it was. In truth, Nicolo was afraid, of himself as much as of this man before him. Perhaps some evil had infected them both. He lowered his own weapon and sat on the ground. He kept his eyes on the other man as he pulled out his water skin and took a long swig, then leaned over and offered it to him.

"Thank you," said Yusuf, taking the skin and his own long swig.

"You speak my language," said Nicolo.

"My family are merchants," he said. He handed the skin back. "My name is Yusuf Al-Kaysani."

"Nicolo di Genova," he answered, hanging the skin back into its place.

Yusuf looked him over. "Why did you come here?" he asked.

"Because the pope commanded it. Because you have mistreated our pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem."

Yusuf shook his head. "I was in Jerusalem on business when you arrived at Antioch. You and your people have done nothing but slaughter your way through the land. That was why I took up the sword. You're invaders."

Nicolo frowned. "Fighting in this war will bring me salvation," he said.

Yusuf cocked his head at him. "Has it?"

Nicolo looked down at his hands, the dirt tracked with blood. "I don't know," he admitted quietly.

Yusuf nodded. "I don't understand either. I started dreaming of you three nights ago."

"That was when I started to dream of you as well," said Nicolo. "It seems, perhaps there is something that has happened to us both. Do you dream of women, as well?"

"Two of them, yes," said Yusuf. He looked towards the lights of the camps. "You have no reason to trust me, but will you come with me? I know somewhere we can rest."

Nicolo studied his face and nodded. "I am tired," he admitted.

"Me, too," said Yusuf. He got to his feet and offered Nicolo his hand. Something seemed to shift between them at the touch, though neither of them knew what it meant. He sheathed his scimitar and led Nicolo away from the camps, away from the ground soaked in blood. They went around the hill and into the desert. 

Nicolo wondered if this was foolhardy. Likely. He'd be killed on sight as a deserter if his own people knew, and the natives of this land would be even quicker to slay him. Yet he followed this stranger that he'd killed so many times.

Yusuf led Nicolo across the empty land, glancing at the stars a few times to be sure of where he was going. By the time the waning moon had risen they had reached a small oasis marked by strong trees.

"Stay close by me," said Yusuf, seeing camels and evidence that others had got here first.

Nicolo nodded. "Perhaps I should pretend to be your prisoner," he said.

Yusuf looked at him. "Do you trust me?"

"You apparently can't kill me, so what do I have to lose?" Nicolo shrugged.

Yusuf gave him a crooked smile. "True. Give me your sword and I'll tie your wrists."

Nicolo handed over his sword with only a little hesitation. Yusuf bound his wrists behind his back, though Nicolo noticed that the bonds weren't that tight and he could get free of them if he wished. He didn't try though, simply stuck close by Yusuf.

There were a few tents and traders as they stepped into the oasis. Yusuf held Nicolo's arm, leading him along a narrow path. A large man stepped in front of them, demanding to know what they were doing. 

"The oasis is for use by anyone," said Yusuf. "I'm taking this prisoner to Jerusalem, we'll only stop for the night."

The man looked at Nicolo and spat on the ground, then stepped back.

Yusuf could feel Nicolo's tension and he could hardly blame the man. After all, he was surrounded here, men turning to look at him with suspicion as Yusuf steered him to a quieter corner. "I will get us something to eat," he said in Nicolo's ear, making a show as if he were binding him to a tree, though in truth he wasn't.

Nicolo watched him step away. He could run. But he'd probably be lost in the desert and even if he didn't he wasn't certain what would happen. And whatever he was now, Yusuf seemed to be under the same spell. Better to stick together and try to figure this out, even if he was the enemy.

Yusuf kept one eye on Nicolo. He'd been hoping this oasis would be less busy, but perhaps the nearby battle had drawn people, or at least a certain type of person. He handed over a few coins for a bit of food and carried it back to the corner.

"Eat," he said, offering a bite to Nicolo. Nicolo looked at him and in the firelight, Yusuf was struck by his clear blue eyes. Nicolo let Yusuf feed him a few bites, then settled back and looked away, refusing more.

_ A proud man _ , thought Yusuf, though this was where his own pride had brought him. Yusuf ate most of the rest of it, saving a bit for the next day. "Try to sleep," he told Nicolo, laying down close by and feeling weariness settle into his bones. 

Nicolo watched Yusuf as he fell asleep. This was the exact sort of man he'd been taught to hate, and yet he felt a stirring inside of himself. He looked away and shifted a little. Clearly their fates were intertwined. His eyes felt heavy and he leaned back against the tree, silently praying.

Yusuf woke to a gurgling sound. He grabbed Nicolo's sword, the closest weapon at hand, and stabbed the man coming towards him, evidently not realizing he'd woken up. The man clutched his stomach and fell over, the sound waking more people. Yusuf stood and pulled the sword free, looking towards Nicolo.

His throat had been cut, but already it was starting to heal. He bent down and picked up his scimitar, switching hands as he held both weapons at the ready. "This man is my prisoner and under my protection," he growled, daring anyone else to make a move as he kicked the body away. 

There were a few murmurs, but no one dared approach.

Nicolo coughed as he became aware again, looking up at Yusuf, standing over him, holding both weapons as if he would fight off every man there if they approached. When they didn't he turned from them and put the sword and scimitar aside, reaching out to touch Nicolo's throat.

"I'm alive," murmured Nicolo.

"You are, my friend. It seems that's the one certainty we both have ahead of us." Yusuf looked back but the rest of those resting at the oasis ignored them.

_ My friend. _ Just hours ago they'd been doing their level best to kill one another. "Thank you," said Nicolo with sincerity.

Yusuf leaned in and kissed his temple before sitting next to him. "We'll leave soon," he said, "find somewhere safer."

"We should look for the women," said Nicolo.

"Yes, I think you're right," answered Yusuf. "We'll talk more when we are away from here."

Nicolo nodded and somehow fell asleep again, this time leaning against Yusuf as if taking strength from his presence.

Yusuf stayed awake a little longer, but eventually slept again, Nicolo warm against his shoulder.

They left the oasis near dawn, Yusuf freeing Nicolo and handing him back his sword as soon as they were out of sight of it. "There will be nowhere safe for you and I here," he said. "But I think the women are north."

"Yes," said Nicolo, accepting the food that Yusuf offered.

"If we can get to the sea I have contacts, we can get a ship." He looked at Nicolo. "My family will wonder, but this is important."

Nicolo nodded, thinking about his own family, people he'd hardly seen in a very long time and finding himself at peace with the idea that he may not see them again. After all, that was always a possibility with him going off to war.

Yusuf looked at his hands, then back at Nicolo. "If we find these women, I think we will find answers. In the meantime, it seems we're bound together."

"God will lead us," said Nicolo with a certainty he didn't feel.

Yusuf studied him. "I hope you are right," he said. They lapsed into silence as they headed across the desert, neither of them knowing what the future would hold, but both instinctively knowing they needed to face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me mostly on twitter these days @merindab
> 
> Now with a semi-sequel [Mysterious Ways](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25957948)


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